Halloween is over, and I'm kinda glad. Not my favorite 'holiday'. I didn't grow up with Halloween and the 31. of October is Reformation Day in Germany. Used to be a holiday in the state I grew up in, then anyone who was protestant could take time off from work and go to church.
The 31st of October is the day that Martin Luther nailed the 95 thesis to the door of the Church in Wittenberg, Germany, which started the whole 'revolution' and separation from the Catholic Church.
My mother had a very religious upbringing. She was not very religious herself, when we grew up, but the feeling and the traditions were very much present in our house. So 'Reformation Day' was celebrated, my father started the day by singing 'Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott' - A mighty fortress is our God -, which was sung later in church. (He used to love to wake us up by singing loudly through the house).
Of course the more catholic All Souls Day was the day after - today. Which also points out that the two - catholic and protestant - were very much divided when I was growing up. We were even separated in school, grades 1, 2, 3 and 4 protestant in one room, and the same grades next door catholic. We were the last class to be divided like that, and mass classes also disappeared after we graduated elementary school.
Very little house on the prairie!
Short before I came to school, there was built a new one, on the same ground, a school for the prostestants, saparateted. We had to go a longer way to our katholic school.
ReplyDeleteSome years later we could pass that ground.
And nowerdays I think, our old school is for the very beginners and the "new" former protestant school is for the older ones.
In what country did you grow up?
can not imagine that this ever happened in germany. so, i am catholic and married to a protestant...it looks like 40 - 50 years ago, that wouldn´t possible. time is changing, thank god!
ReplyDelete